From the Publisher
Lively narrative of the Revolutionary War realistically assesses the motley collection of men who led the military struggle against Britain, revealing both their strengths and weaknesses.” —The Wall Street Journal
“With vivid details and incisive characterizations, Jack Kelly tells how unlikely young Americans—an asthmatic Quaker with a limp, an overweight bookseller, a barely literate backwoods wagon master—discovered in 1776 an ability to outthink and outfight the generals and soldiers of the best army in the world. Readers will finish this fascinating book with a sense of awe—and a renewed faith in America's ability to overcome daunting challenges.” —Thomas Fleming, author of Liberty! The American Revolution
“A highly engaging read.” —Library Journal
“Jack Kelly has written a superb account of the American soldiers who won our independence against great odds. Band of Giants is a masterfully descriptive account of their experiences that tells us, in his wonderful style, who these remarkable men were. This is a must read for all Americans who want to truly know those who forged our magnificent nation.” —General Anthony C. Zinni USMC (Retired)
“Armed with the latest research burnished by a bright, brisk writing style, Jack Kelly has done a masterful job of retelling the story of the Revolutionary War. This book is highly recommended for anyone seeking to understand the birth of the United States.” —Willard Sterne Randall, award-winning Founding Fathers biographer-historian
“Jack Kelly has managed to accomplish something remarkable in Band of Giants: to give a concise and accurate overview of the Revolutionary War without losing the intimacy and detail that go into a good yarn. And in doing so, Kelly shows us the essence of the Revolutionary miracle — that America owes its independence to a group of military amateurs...talented and tough, but amateurs all the same.” —Paul Lockhart, author of The Whites of Their Eyes
“Jack Kelly's Band of Giants is a sprightly and illuminating history of the Revolutionary War. It captures the terror of battle, the ecstasy of victory, the character of the leading generals, and the travail of the ordinary soldiers. Readers will take from this engaging book a better understanding of the true nature of America's struggle to win independence.” —John Ferling, author of Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry that Forged a Nation
“Jack Kelly's superb writing enhances this fast-paced account of the Revolutionary War. Kelly doesn't just narrate a series of events. Instead, he reveals the war's most compelling dramas and personalities, giving the reader a sense of what it was like to experience the Revolution firsthand. Band of Giants is both entertaining and informative.” —Edward G. Lengel, author of General George Washington: A Military Life
“Jack Kelly's shrewd novelist's eye and the narrative velocity that propels his writing should make any student of history delighted that he is turning his formidable gifts to telling the great founding tale of the American republic.” —Richard Snow, former editor-in-chief, American Heritage, author of I Invented the Modern Age: The Rise of Henry Ford
“. . . mandatory reading for anyone who seeks to understand the true nature of the Revolutionary era in American history.” —Army Magazine
“Band of Giants is a book about great characters who overcame, what seems in retrospect, nearly insurmountable odds, and went on to beat the world's foremost military and naval power... Jack Kelly takes the reader through the War of Independence from start to finish, lingering here and there to illuminate some of the fantastic characters who achieved the seemingly impossible.” —What Would The Founders Think?
From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY
"[T]he writing is lively, and [Jack] offers a serious reminder of the brutality of the American Revolution." —Publishers Weekly
author of General George Washington: A Militar Edward G. Lengel
Jack Kelly's superb writing enhances this fast-paced account of the Revolutionary War. Kelly doesn't just narrate a series of events. Instead, he reveals the war's most compelling dramas and personalities, giving the reader a sense of what it was like to experience the Revolution firsthand. Band of Giants is both entertaining and informative.
author of Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry John Ferling
Jack Kelly's Band of Giants is a sprightly and illuminating history of the Revolutionary War. It captures the terror of battle, the ecstasy of victory, the character of the leading generals, and the travail of the ordinary soldiers. Readers will take from this engaging book a better understanding of the true nature of America's struggle to win independence.
award-winning Founding Fathers biographer-historia Willard Sterne Randall
Armed with the latest research burnished by a bright, brisk writing style, Jack Kelly has done a masterful job of retelling the story of the Revolutionary War by focusing on the key figures and battles of the long-protracted military struggle that undergirded the political war for independence. His cast of Cincinnatus-like amateurs put aside their plows, lock up their shops, kiss their wives goodbye and strap on their shields and bucklers. Facing the hangman's noose if they fail, they outfight, outmaneuvered and outlast the thousands of professional killers and bungling courtier-generals arrayed against them. This book is highly recommended for anyone seeking to understand the birth of the United States.
Kirkus Reviews
2014-06-12
Journalist and historian Kelly chronicles the poorly trained but determined men who fought with George Washington and other commanders to free the North American continent from British rule in the late 18thcentury.In an oft-told but still inspiring saga, the author opens his popular history in 1754, as a young Washington was becoming seasoned in battles against French troops seeking to encroach on British territory. After that introduction, Kelly moves the action to 1774, as Washington commands a bunch of ragtag soon-to-be Americans against the British monarchy, which had lost favor due to high taxes, among many other transgressions. Kelly is fascinated by the details of specific battles, but he is well-aware that without finely wrought character sketches of those carrying out the fighting, military history can fall flat on the page. As a result, the author has carefully chosen his heroes and villains, using both primary and secondary sources to explain their paths to battle. A combination of psychobiography, lively prose and generous foreshadowing keeps the narrative moving from battle to battle, year after year, until the story ends in 1783. In the final chapter, Kelly looks back from the year 1824 at the remarkable victories of the revolutionaries; it was the 50thanniversary of theself-styled patriots’ encounter with the well-equipped British musketeers at Lexington Green. “Then began a celebration,” writes the author, “such as the nation had never seen: dinners, galas, speeches, salutes, parades, fireworks. At the Lafayette Ball…five thousand guests wandered through a fairyland dominated by thirty-foot-high transparencies showing Lafayette, Washington, and the marquis’ French estate at La Grange.” The hardships the patriots endured—lack offirst-rate equipment, food, clothing and protection from severe weather, among other problems—were seared in the memories of the celebratory survivors and those who followed in the experiment of American democracy.A rousing account of bloody sacrifice.
